Izanami's Madness
by Delirious Daydream
Summary: A threat that was once forgotten arises as Kid grows in his potential as a Shinigami, having permanently connected his first Line of Sanzu. Can he resist the pull of insanity, or will he succumb to the ancient enemy and her madness? No pairings. Cover done by me.
1. Prologue

**Okay, I deleted the first version of this story 'cause I came up with a more interesting idea. It'll still include insane!Kid though, so don't worry. Also, I've done a bit of researching, so don't assume I made everything up. This is the prologue, and it will be the only chapter I'll include the disclaimer and warnings in because that stuff gets repetitive after a while. And yeah, I drew the cover image, which is also on my deviantart under the pen name Delirious-Daydream. I don't have a lot of stuff posted, but I'm getting there! Check it out if you get the chance!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Soul Eater, as they are the property of Atsushi Ookubo, Funimation, etc. This a fanmade work of fiction meant for the sole purpose of entertainment and no copyright infringement is intended.**

**Warnings: This fic may contain profanity, violence, and tons of insanity. Read at your own discretion. **

Centuries ago, before the establishment of Shibusen, the development of demon weapons, or even the existence of witches, two divine deities were summoned by the _hitorigami_ Kunitokotachi and Amenominakanushi: Izanagi, _"He Who Invites"_, and Izanami, _"She Who Invites"_. The pair were handed _Ame-no-nuboko_, a jeweled, heavenly spear and given the task of creating land in the churning sea that lay beneath the cover of _Tengoku_ \- Heaven. Together, they churned the dark waters with the spear, forming the land of _Onogoroshima_.

Once the original task was done, the two wished to be together more intimately and agreed upon marriage. They built _Ama-no-mihashira_, "the heavenly pillar", and circled the structure in opposite directions until they met again on the other side. Izanami greeted her soon-to-be husband, which was unbecoming, but the two still married. Hiruko was a deformed deity that resulted from that first ceremony, and realizing their faults, Izanagi and Izanami performed the ceremony again, except with Izanagi greeting his wife-to-be first. The _ōyashima_, "Great Eight Islands", were the successful offspring of the second ceremony, and from then on Izanagi and Izanami gave life to many more deities.

Then, disaster struck.

Izanami died from the severe burns that came with giving birth to Kagu-Tsuchi, a deity of fire. Izanagi grieved for his wife, but made the brash decision to journey to _Yomi_, "the shadowy land of the dead" to retrieve her. Once there, he found that she could not leave after she had eaten the food that was offered to her in the Underworld, and she begged him not to look upon her. Still, in an attempt to see his wife, Izanagi lit a fire so that he might see in the pitch black darkness that surrounded him. To his horror, Izanami was no longer the same; instead of the beautiful goddess he had married, there stood the rotting shell of a corpse.

Izanagi fled _Yomi_ in terror, which in turn angered Izanami. Shrieking her spite, she sent _Raijin_ and _Shikome_ to hunt down her ex-husband. Izanagi escaped, blocking the cavern entrance to _Yomi_ with a large, formidable boulder. In her fury, Izanami declared death to a thousand living residents each day. Izanagi countered that he would give life to fifteen-hundred each day. So began the struggle in keeping the balance between the dead and the living, in which Shinigami was brought into being.

Shinigami was given the strict role of balancing the lives of the living and dead, as well as the balance of good and evil. As he could not accomplish this himself, he had with him seven others at his side. The eight warriors protected those living within the lands created by the original deities from the evil forces that escaped from _Yomi_. These were servants of Izanami, known as the three original witches. They, unlike Izanami, were able to pass through the gates of Yomi and were the only way she could take the souls that she vowed she would. As the witches murdered, Izanami's dark intentions corrupted the souls they came into contact with.

The hateful, confusing emotions were the start of Madness.


	2. Connection: Something's Changed?

**I don't plan specifically for this story to follow the anime or manga, but I can't promise that there won't be spoilers to some of you out there who haven't finished either. Also, keep in mind that some of the things I've researched are interwoven with my own ideas, as well as the ideas presented in Soul Eater.**

It had started out as a normal, routine assignment. Somewhere along the line, however, Death the Kid found himself in a rough spot. Though, one would argue, given the severity and nature of his neurotic tendencies, misfortunate occurrences to come of his distraction were quite common. What made this mission so unusual? That's just it - it wasn't supposed to be. Yet here the young Shinigami was, forcing his attention to focus on the fact that his weapon partners were in danger as opposed to studying the enemy's lack of bilateral symmetry.

Standing between him and his twin pistols was a large beast that once was a human man, but had become a corrupted husk of madness. It stood over seven feet tall, slightly hunched. One black, beady eye rested in a hollow socket on its flat countenance. The corrupted soul was missing an eye, the left one, so all that was there was a pitch black hole, the eyelids having been ripped away. There was no nose to be seen, but what mouth there was seemed to only be a thin, stitched line - until the creature would open its jaws. Inside it had several rows of yellow, needle-like teeth.

Kid wasn't quite sure how the ugly thing had separated him from Liz and Patti, but from what he figured out thus far the opponent was not to be taken lightly.

"Damn!" He cursed, having barely dodged a lumbering swing of the monster's large fist. "Liz! Patti!"

"Over here!" Liz called, waving her arms frantically, Patti clutched in weapon form in her right hand. Unfortunately, their target turned his hideous head in her direction, clumsily charging forward in an offensive attack. Liz shrieked and ducked to the left, throwing Patti in the air as both simultaneously transformed in a bright, pink light.

"Die, motherfucker!" Patti cackled, blasting several rounds haphazardly at the monster. He growled in agitation, the soul-bullets having done little against his rough skin.

Kid gritted his teeth, inwardly calculating the quickest route to his partners as he struggled to come up with an alternate plan of action that would be successful in defeating the disgustingly asymmetrical being. Seeing that Patti was inadvertently drawing closer to the edge of roof, as they'd been fighting on top of an abandoned warehouse, Kid knew he had to act quickly.

He darted forward, dodging around the monster's legs. It was caught off guard at his sudden movement, but recovered quickly enough to land a stinging slash at the young Shinigami's face. Seeing that her meister was in closer range, Patti tossed Liz and transformed so both were caught in Kid's outstretched hands.

"Soul Resonance!"

The air shifted as power surged through the link Kid formed with the Thompson sisters, his soul visibly swelling in strength. The creature, having failed to land another effective blow, snarled and retreated a step in preparation for a reckless charge. Taking the target's distance into consideration, Kid willed his weapons to upgrade quickly so that his Death Cannon would have a chance to fire.

This is gonna be close, he thought grimly.

_"Noise level is at 0.05%."_

The creature rolled its shoulders.

_"Black Needle Wavelength is fully charged!"_

It tossed its head back with a rage-filled cry.

_"Preparing to fire in three -"_

The target charged forward with reckless speed.

_"Two!"_

It raised a massive, clawed hand.

_"One."_

The claws descended.

_"Firing now!"_

Kid raised his twin weapons level with the monster's chest, "Death Cannon!"

Great clouds of black smoke followed a deafening explosion, the attack having been successful with barely a moment to spare. Kid was relieved - the creature was so close that he could see into its empty eye-socket, which hadn't been so void after all. Not to mention the fact that he could still feel the sting of its claws digging into the flesh of his neck, or the foul stench of its breath in his face...

"Kid, you feeling alright?" Kid jumped at Liz's voice, "You seem a bit paler than usual."

"I'm perfectly fine," He replied smoothly. Though, he was trying not to let the sudden wave of dizziness that struck him show in his voice.

"That was pretty frickin' close, huh you guys?" Patti giggled light-heartedly, slapping her meister on the back and unintentionally causing him to stumble forward. Unfortunately, the young Shinigami's body chose that exact moment to stop functioning correctly and he fell before he could catch himself.

"Kid!" The sisters cried in alarm. Both were immediately at his side, quickly becoming concerned when he didn't voice a response.

_What's going on...? Why...can't I move?_

Kid was immensely confused, and the situation only caused him further distress. He couldn't recall anything out of the ordinary, and the mission held no specific dangers he hadn't encountered before. The corrupted soul had no special abilities, and it didn't secrete any toxins he knew of. Even then his body wouldn't have been affected by it; he was immune to most harmful toxins known to man, as he was a Shinigami.

_What makes this day any different? It doesn't make any sense..._

He felt a sudden pulse in his soul, causing him to inhale sharply. For a moment everything around him seemed to stop, the Thompson's voices drowned out by a dull static. It even felt like his heart had ceased in its beating, and he couldn't breathe. But then things were in motion again, an indescribable pain shooting through his body. The sting of his previous wounds intensified until it felt as though he was consumed in a fire of agony, and the dizziness he'd felt before returned with a vengeance.

Kid couldn't comprehend what was going on, or how it was possible to _hurt so much_. He only knew that he could hear the Thompson sisters as they screamed in concern...or was he the one that was screaming?

"...Kiddo?"

The young Shinigami let out an explosive breath as his eyes flew open, only to groan and force them shut again as they were assaulted by a bright light. He knew that whoever had spoken to him was still there, but he could honestly admit that he was in no mood to talk.

"Kid, you have to open your eyes if I'm going to explain things to you," Came the light, scolding voice. Kid unhappily opened his eyes again, tilting his head up.

"Father...? What are you -?" He broke off dazedly. His father waved a comically large hand.

"G'morning, son! You sleep well?"

Kid blinked, forcing his aching muscles to cooperate as he sat up to observe his surroundings. He took in the sterile scent, the pristine white of the ceiling, and the disorganized medicine cabinets. The Dispensary?

"How did I get here?" He murmured, having trouble remembering much of anything.

"Huh? Did you forget?" The older Shinigami asked as he cocked his head, "Liz and Patti brought you back to Shibusen after you completed your last assignment...Do you feel any different?"

"Different?" Kid echoed, feeling a bit unnerved at the question. He then noticed his father was trying to be subtle in gesturing to a mirror, so he turned only to see a startling change in his reflection.

The middle stripe in his hair was now a complete circle.

"You have reached a certain point in your life where the Lines of Sanzu will begin to connect," Shinigami explained at Kid's bewildered look, "So you'll soon have access to the abilities previously lost to you."

Kid took in this new information, only capable of staring dumbly at his reflection. Quickly coming back to himself, however, he shook his head. There were so many things he wanted, no, _needed_ to know, and this appeared to be the only chance he'd get to ask his father about the Lines of Sanzu.

"Father," He began, "Is there anything that specifically triggers the transformation? It's just - it happened so suddenly..."

"Hm, there's a number of things, actually. The Lines of Sanzu may connect when the host is in a life-threatening situation, providing a great deal of power so that they may survive whatever ordeal they are facing. For example, though you may not recall, you connected all three Lines temporarily before collapsing in your fight against Asura. There are also certain artifacts that, when in contact with the host, may trigger the same transformation. Lastly, in your case actually, the Lines may deem your body capable of bearing the power and responsibility you were born with and decide to connect on their own."

"I suppose that makes sense," Kid admitted. "But is there anything else I need to know that you're not telling me?"

.

.

.

"Nope, not really!" Shinigami replied cheerfully after an elongated pause.

"Then why wait so long to think about it?!"

_Knock, knock._

Both father and son looked up as the Dispensary door opened to reveal the DeathScythe known as Spirit Albarn. He looked between the two with a sheepish grin, a manila folder cluttered with several documents clasped in his hand.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"No, not at all! Come in, DeathScythe!" The older Shinigami reassured, waving the man over. "What brings you here this morning?"

"Well, I found that classified file in the Archives you wanted me to get," Spirit answered carefully, sparing Kid a nervous glance, "Um, should I get back to you on this?"

"It's fine, I was just about to return to the Death Room. I'm sure Kiddo would like the time to rest and visit with friends anyhow, right son?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's fine..." Kid murmured absentmindedly, a slight frown upon his face. _So there _is_ something that Father isn't telling me..._

"Alright, I'll let the Thompsons and the rest of your friends know that you're up and well," Shinigami told him. He paused at the door next to Spirit, "Try not to overthink things, Kid."

Shinigami left, leaving Kid to wonder at his cryptic choice of words. He didn't have much time to ponder upon the thought, as Liz and Patti were at his bedside only moments later. The rest of his Resonance group were probably not too far behind.

"Hey, Kiddo! One of your stripes is all connect-y again!" Patti pointed out in awe. "But it didn't go away like last time."

"So," Liz said, ignoring her sister's child-like observations, "How are ya feeling?"

"I'm fine, just shaken up is all," Kid reassured her with a soft smile. No matter how long they'd been his weapons, he was still touched at the sisters' shared concern for his well-being.

_Knock, knock-knock._

_"Hey, is it okay for us to come in?"_ Came Maka's muffled voice.

At Kid's nod, Liz replied, "Sure. But not all at once."

_"What did she say?"_ Tsubaki asked.

_"I think she said 'all at once',"_ Black Star answered.

_"No she didn't -"_

"YAHOO!" Black Star shouted.

The door flew off its hinges and crashed into the furthest wall, successfully causing several spiderweb-like cracks in the foundation. Luckily for Kid and the Thompsons, Kid's bed was strategically placed adjacent to the doorway in the case that such a thing may happen. Otherwise the three would have gotten some nasty splinters.

"Oh, not again!" Tsubaki wailed. "I'm so sorry..."

"That was totally uncalled for, not to mention uncool."

"Idiot!" Maka screeched, flinging a thick hardcover at the rambunctious meister, "Don't you have the common sense to use a doorknob?!"

"OW! What the hell, Maka!"

"Looks like nothing has changed after all," Kid sighed, brow twitching in irritation at Black Star's antics.

* * *

The vast expanse of space was pitch black with shadows, no light to be seen for miles. Creatures screeched in the distance, hungry for the warm tang of blood to fill their wretchedly cold bodies. In the depths of Yomi, life was simply an irrelevant term and was by no means accurate in describing the inhabitants. Those that dwelled in the everlasting darkness were dead, forever banished from Tengoku. Others simply lived a dreary existence, having nowhere else to go.

Further into the barren land, stepping carefully across the plains was a lone figure. Confidence was clear in her gait, as she'd developed an awareness that allowed her to tread safely without use of light. Reaching the edge of a stone slope, she crept downward and picked her way across and dropped lightly onto her feet. The figure paused in her trek, listening for the slightest movement that might signal the presence of another being. Hearing none, she advanced to the entrance of a stone corridor carved into the tall ridge she'd just leapt from.

Inside was a number of complex twist and turns, designed like a maze to trap those who wandered in carelessly. Each passage was handmade with the use of only a pair of feminine hands, whose nails had scratched away with frantic need at the solid rock in hopes to vanish out of sight forever. The figure navigated expertly through the maze, finally coming to a halt at a broken, stone arch.

"Mistress, are you awake?" She rasped softly. Her voice was low and rough, forever hoarse.

"..."

"Mistress, you have felt it too, haven't you? The shift in Yomi?"

"..."

"A new Shinigami is upon us, Mistress. You must know what opportunity this provides you, yes?"

"..."

"Mistress...?" The figure spoke haltingly, beginning to feel nervous.

"...Shikome," The other finally whispered. "Send for Saisho's eldest..."

"Oh, my Mistress," Shikome murmured. "The Gorgons have been wiped from existence. The only one left is not even a witch."

"Is that so? Well...I suppose I'll have to do things myself. Prepare the altar, there is a spell I wish to use immediately."

"Yes, of course."

Shikome dragged from the corner of the room an ancient stone column that reached up to her eyes in height. She meticulously placed it in the center of the cavern, listening for the soft steps of the Mistress.

"Shikome," She said, "I will finally leave this wretched existence, yes? **He** will not escape me this time."

"Yes, Mistress Izanami."

**Reviews are greatly appreciated, so let me know your thoughts on this story when you get the chance!**


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